Jemimah Rodrigues played a heroic knock and did the impossible for India

The Indian national cricket team, be it the men’s or women’s side, has had tough luck against Australia since the beginning of the rivalry. Head-to-head, the women’s sides of two nations have played 59 games, out of which 48 games went in Australia’s favour, whereas India won only 11.

In the recently concluded ICC Women’s World Cup, India suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the Aussies in the earlier stage. Therefore, when destiny brought the two sides against each other again in the semi-final, the majority thought the game would go in Australia’s favour, and India would be out of the tournament.

However, that wasn’t the case.

Australia’s ferocious batting

India started off with an early success by grabbing Alyssa Healy’s wicket, but given the depth of Australia’s batting lineup, the joy was short-lived. The duo of Phoebe Litchfield and Ellyse Perry took the onus on themselves of not letting the Baggy Green get humiliated. Litchfield put on one of the finest batting displays on the World Cup stage, hitting 119 runs in 93 balls, whereas Perry added 77 runs. That wasn’t the end of Australia’s ferocious batting, as middle-order batter Ashleigh Gardner also added 63 runs in 45 balls at a strike rate of 140.00.

(Credit- Outlook India)

The Indian bowling line tried to contain the Aussie line-up. Unfortunately, except for Nallapureddy Charani, who grabbed two wickets at an economy of 4.90, the other bowlers could not handle pressure, and Australia’s scoreboard kept turning.

The Jemimah Show

(Credit- News18)

India got off to a poor start, losing two earlier wickets. However, then came Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur, the two saviors of the day. Rodrigues registered 127 runs and stayed not out, ensuring the game swung in India’s favour. On the other end, Kaur hit 89 runs to reduce the gap between the two sides. The cameos of Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, and Amanjot Kaur were the final nail in Australia’s coffin, who had a hard time digesting the defeat at the hands of India.

India’s revenge

The victory not only ensured India’s place in the tournament final but also brought the revenge it had been seeking for ages. After all, both India’s men's and women's sides have lost multiple ICC knockout games against Australia. However, this time, the story was different.

(Credit- ESPNcricinfo)

The Women in Blue eventually went on to win their maiden ICC Women’s World Cup by defeating South Africa. For India, this victory is more than a trophy—it is a message to all Indian women that it is high time they take an interest in all sports, either by participating or simply watching and following, to reduce the gender gap in the Indian sporting scenario.